April 1952

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Features

The Pacific Floor

Modern methods of undersea exploration have pieced together a dramatic picture of this rugged landscape. A description of it in terms of an imaginary voyage in a supersubmarine

By Robert S. Dietz

Bird Aerodynamics

It is even more like that of the airplane than is generally assumed. A bird does not fly through the air as a man swims through the water; it employs the airfoil and the propeller

By John H. Storer

Schizophrenic Art: A Case Study

The drawings and paintings of a child who lost both of her parents and developed schizophrenia show how she changed over three years of successful treatment

By Bruno Bettelheim

The Progress of Antibiotics

In the decade since the first patient was treated with penicillin, some 300 of these substances have been discovered. Only a few have come into wide clinical use, but they have revolutionized medicine

By Kenneth B. Raper

On Transplanting Nuclei

Like other cells, the amoeba is divided into nucleus and cytoplasm. By operating upon these organs, the author studies their role in the life of the cell

By J. F. Danielli

The Strange Life of Charles Babbage

This remarkable Englishman tried to build modern computing machines a century ahead of their time. His failure left him hating mankind in general and organ-grinders in particular

By Philip and Emily Morrison

Volcanoes and World Climate

What causes ice ages? A current theory rests upon the fact that as much as 20 per cent of the sunlight received by the surface of the earth can be blocked by the dust of a volcanic explosion

By Harry Wexler

Natural Selection in Language

Some recent studies making use of history, grammar and the mathematical theory of communication shed light on the origin of language types and even of language itself

By Joshua Whatmough

Departments

50 and 100 Years Ago: April 1952

Science and the Citizen: April 1952

Letters

Letters to the Editors, April 1952

Recommended

Books

Amateur Scientist

The Amateur Scientist

Departments

Bibliography

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Digital Issue ?Read or download this issue’s articles online. *A printed copy of this issue is not included. $7.99

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